1 An old wives' tale says that you can tell the age of a tortoise by counting the rings on its shell. It is not true. The growth of a tortoise depends upon its access to food and water. A desert tortoise may have to go days without eating, while a gopher tortoise may have plenty of access to food.2 In China, the tortoise is the symbol of longevity. There is a good reason for this. A tortoise can live a long time. A tortoise has a lifespan of a human. Some have lived many years longer. Some of these aged tortoises have even made the record books for longevity.3Tu'i Malila was a radiated tortoise from Madagascar. This tortoise was said to have been the longest-living tortoise on record. It was born around 1777. Captain James Cook gave it to the royal family while visiting Tonga on one of his voyages around 1777. Tu'i Malila died on May 19, 1965. It lived for 188 years.